Cancers, including leukemia, are the leading cause of death in animals and humans. The exact cause of many cancers is not known, but links between certain activities such as smoking or exposure to carcinogens and the incidence of certain types of carcinomas, lymphomas, e.g., leukemia and tumors, has been shown by a number of researchers.
Many types of chemotherapeutic agents have been shown to be effective against leukemia, but not all types of leukemia cells respond to these agents, and, unfortunately, many of these agents also destroy normal cells.
Despite advances in the field of leukemia treatments, the leading therapies to date are radiation, chemotherapy and bone marrow transplants. However, these therapies generally harm normal cells as well as leukemic cells. Ideally cytotoxic agents that have specificity for leukemia cells while only minimally affecting normal healthy cells would be extremely desirable. Unfortunately, none have been found and instead agents which target especially rapidly dividing cells (both diseased and normal) have been used.